NRDC Assesses the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026, Combining Transmission Reform with Permitting Changes
By Eve
The Natural Resources Defense Council has published its assessment of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (BAAJA), a bill that follows years of negotiations on permitting reform. NRDC says the transmission and grid provisions would bring substantial and durable benefits by allowing new investment in an ageing power grid, but it raises concerns about changes to federal environmental laws, permitting standards and judicial remedies. It warns that the "project certainty" language could favour fossil fuel, mining, data centre and other industrial projects over clean energy, and could limit agencies' ability to address newly discovered harms.
Why it matters
Transmission and grid reform could ease the network constraints that affect charging site delivery and grid connections, but the permitting changes could shift which projects get priority and certainty. Procurement teams and CPOs should follow how the bill's final text treats energy infrastructure and environmental review.
Source
- Source
- https://cleantechnica.com/2026/11/06/nrdc-assessment-of-baaja-the-2026-permitting-transmission-bill/
- Original title
- “NRDC Assessment of BAAJA, the 2026 Permitting & Transmission Bill”
- Published
- 7 November 2026
In this story
- Topic
- Policy & Market
- Place
- United States
- Tag
- NRDC
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